Nakaya Naka-ai Cigar Blue Rose with Raden: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

I admit it. I'm a Nakaya nut. I'm certain that, if I had to get rid of all my fountain pens except for one, the one I would save would be my Nakaya Moon Cat. Fortunately, I don't have to make such a decision right now. Instead, I keep adding to my Nakaya collection.

My most recent acquisition is a Nakaya Naka-ai Cigar Blue Rose with Raden. I got it in a trade with my friend Rick Liebson (his username is whichwatch on Fountain Pen Geeks) who is the go-to guy if you want a Nakaya and can't find one at nibs.com or nakaya.org.

Nakayas come in a paulownia wood box lined in red velvet material. The pen itself is nestled in a kimono and cartridges and a converter are included.

The Naka-ai style is my favorite Nakaya model. I love the conical finials and how the barrel tapers gently at the bottom. Capped, the pen measures 150mm/5.9 inches. Uncapped it is 135mm/5.3 inches. It is not postable. At its widest, the barrel measures 15mm in diameter, but at the grip it is 11.9mm in diameter. It weighs only 18.6 grams uncapped and fully inked. It's the most comfortable Nakaya for writing, in my opinion--well proportioned and perfectly balanced. Like all Nakayas, it is a cartridge/converter fill.

The Blue Rose Raden is a unique and beautiful work of art. The base is heki-tamenuri urushi. Although usually heki-tamenuri finishes exhibit green highlights, for some reason this model does not. When you look at the finial or the grip section the "worn" areas are light brown rather than green.

The raden in the rose is blue, with green raden for the leaves and stem on the cap. A line of blue raden swirls around the barrel to the bottom, evoking either the rest of the stem or, as I prefer to imagine, a trail of rose petals.

This is a subtle raden design, which I find quite pleasing.

An additional detail on my Blue Rose is gold Kanji lettering. I was told it means something like "cherish." If anyone can confirm that for me, I'd be grateful!

Rick swapped out my 14k flexible stub nib from my Dorsal Fin 2 (review here) into this one. I love this nib--it's soft and springy and the stub offers its own line variation even without flex.

I can get more line variation with just a bit of pressure, but I'm afraid to spring the nib, so I haven't pushed it too hard. Below are some examples of writing on both Cosmo Air Light (review here) and Ayush Paper (review here). Ink spreads more on the Cosmo, so the line variation looks more pronounced than on the Ayush paper, but I like how the Ayush Paper (with its bit of texture and absorbency) makes me feel like I'm more in control of the nib.

Cosmo Air Light

Ayush Paper

Ayush Paper

A brand new Nakaya Naka-ai Cigar Blue Rose with Raden will set you back $1,350 at nibs.com (and that's with no special nib modifications). Plus, right now there are very few models in stock which means a six-month to a year or more wait. I'm happy to recommend you contact Rick or go to his booth at the Washington Pen Show where you can find up to seventy Nakaya models! Nope--I don't get a commission or anything for recommending Rick, but I've traded with him and bought several of his pens and he's great to work with (plus he can switch out Nakaya nibs for you).

(I purchased this pen with my own funds.)

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BENU Talisman Dragon's Blood Fountain Pen Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

Have we ever needed a Talisman more than we do now? This perfectly timed line from Russian pen maker BENU is something extra special and I am obsessed.

With this line, BENU stays true to their wild, over-the-top aesthetic--and then takes the creativity up a notch. At first glance, the Talisman pens look like any other BENU line--a creative shape, bright colors, a bit of bling: the BENU look we all know and love. Not satisfied with pens that merely look magical, BENU has set out to make pens that actually are magical. If there was ever anyone who decided that they would be the alchemists of the pen world, of course it's BENU.

The Talisman line is inspired by folklore and legend, with each pen calling out to an origin myth for a magical substance. There's Edelweiss for the flower said to bring true love and bravery; Peacock Ore for the mineral of happiness and creativity; Mandrake Root for sexuality and wealth; Foxglove flowers for good luck and fairy magic; and Dragon's Blood for strength and invulnerability. BENU didn't stop at "inspired by" though. Because these pens are actually made of that stuff. Yes, these are infused with the actual flowers, minerals, and resins of their namesake. (Don't worry--Dragon's Blood is sap from the Dragon Tree. BENU isn't out there slaying actual dragons to make pens. I'm pretty sure. According to them.)

So when BENU says these pens are Talismans, it's more than just a name. And I for one, am enchanted. Who wouldn't need all of these? I was lucky enough to have been sent a Dragon's Blood pen. After a few weeks writing with it, I am delighted to say that even if your life is already charmed and you are in no need of any magical enhancements--this is also just a really good pen.

The first thing I noticed is that it's a more standard size and shape than some of my other BENU pens. It's close to the same size as a Lamy Safari, so it will fit well in most hands and do better in pen cases than some of the larger BENUs. But it can't be boring, so the body is covered in interesting facets of varying lengths, offset from each other. Each section has six facets. The effect is that it looks like an organic shape, like a tree branch or mineral shard. It's a very cool effect that is also comfortable to hold and keeps the pen from rolling.

The clip is stainless steel and very firm, but it has a push tab at the top of it to help it open. The cap does post, but with the facets some alignments work better than others. Posting can be a little fussy to find a secure spot--but if you're determined to post, it does work. The section is tapered and long, with a flare at the end to stop slipping. I found it very comfortable to hold. There are threads and a step up to the body at the back of the grip section, but they are all smoothed and not obtrusive.

The steel nib is an excellent writer. I've never had an issue with a BENU nib, so I was not surprised to find it smooth and well-tuned. BENU pens are wet writers, and this broad nib breathes ink like a dragon breathes fire. Between the generous ink flow and how much I was enjoying writing with it, I ran out of ink before I even sat down to write this review. It won't be cleaned and stored, though. It's getting immediately re-inked and put back into rotation, where I think it will stay for quite some time.

The Talisman line sells for around $122 each, so a bit more than a lot of the BENU lines, but those ones aren't infused with magical properties (as far as we know...). I think the price is very good, especially when compared with other brands of similar quality. If only BENU had sent me the pen that brings wealth. I would have used my riches to buy the rest of the Talisman pens.

(BENU provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Fine Writing International: Fenestro Kuroshio Fountain Pen with 1.5mm Stub Nib Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

The Fenestro fountain pen is one of those newcomers that really caught me off guard. I hadn't heard of the brand — Fine Writing International — let alone have any awareness of the pen before it showed up on JetPens. With any new brand, there's always a hefty risk with trying something for the first time. In some cases, that risk turns out to be negative. In the case of the Fenestro, it turned out to be a positive risk.

The Fenestro Kuroshio is a beautiful fountain pen that sports a colorful resin body and a glorious 1.5mm stub nib. The Kuroshio part of the name refers to the specific colorway of this model, which is a combination of swirled blue and turquoise that creates a beautiful flowing water effect. I'm mesmerized by the depth of the material and love looking at it while it's on my desk.

Along with the gorgeous resin material, there's a massive ink window (turns out "fenestro" means "window" in Esperanto) that shows you a clear view of how much ink is remaining in the converter cartridge or in the ink reservoir if you've chosen to fill the pen as an eye-dropper, which is completely supported by the Fenestro. There's a beefy o-ring above the threads of the section that connect to the ink reservoir, so you don't have to worry about any ink leaking out if you choose to fill it with an eyedropper. According to JetPens, you can fill 3.6 ml of ink into the pen this way!

The pen is as versatile as it is beautiful. It can be used with nearly any standard international cartridge or converter, or you can fill the barrel directly with up to 3.6 ml of ink using the included plastic eyedropper. The durable resin barrel is acid resistant and alkali resistant, making it safe to fill with any fountain pen ink.

Moving on to the size of the pen, it's not exactly a pocket pen. It's fairly large at just under 6 inches when capped, and a whopping 7 inches when posted. I haven't posted this pen at all because I find the uncapped length (5.3 inches) to be perfect for me.

The grip section on this pen is small compared to the rest of the body size, but it's still very comfortable to use. The material is slick and polished, but still provides a great surface to grip when writing. The transition from the grip section to the ink window is soft to the touch and provides a nice tactile indicator for where your fingers are resting when writing with the pen. Due to the length and fairly lightweight nature of the pen, it's extremely comfortable to use for long writing sessions. I've had zero issues with my standard tripod grip, but your experience may vary depending on how you grip the pen.

The nib is a #6 JoWo with a custom stamp for the FWI brand. Like all JoWo nibs, it performs well and I've been really happy with it. The 1.5mm stub outfitted on this model is velvety smooth and dependable. The edges are delightfully soft while still providing plenty of sharp variation between horizontal and vertical stroke line widths. It's a fantastic nib, and it's also easy to swap out with any other JoWo #6 nib.

The one thing that I really dislike about this pen (and I mean I really dislike it) is the size of the clip on the cap. It's comically small and just feels so out of place on a pen of this size. It could easily be another 0.75" long to fit the length of the pen better. I'm not sure why FWI chose to use such a petite clip on this pen, but I think it was the wrong choice. At any rate, it works great as a clip in terms of pure functional design. If only it complimented the aesthetics of the pen!

At $85, the Fenestro is a good deal. The materials and components are top notch, and the pen is an absolute stunner when it's sitting on your desk or in the right light. It brings me a lot of joy to use, and I think the price is fair for what you get, especially considering the massive amount of ink you can store in it. The shape isn't anything special, but it's a classic shape that should fit many grips. In my few weeks of use, it's performed well, and I expect it to continue holding its own. When comparing this to the likes of a TWSBI 580 or Kaweco AL Sport, I'd be hard pressed to pick either of them over this beautiful Kuroshio model.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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